


Someone to You

by Agent_of_Asgard



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU, DCU (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Batfamily Feels, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Family Feels, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I promise, Jason Todd Has Issues, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, it all works out
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-25 18:53:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17126852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Agent_of_Asgard/pseuds/Agent_of_Asgard
Summary: Jason Todd has a bigger heart than he lets people seeIn which Jason Todd learns that he isn't as alone as he thinks he is and Bruce and the rest of the family realize, through a terrible accident, how much Jason is actually hurting.





	1. I Really Need Somebody to Call My Own

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly Jason Todd deserves the entire world and his relationship with Bruce is rocky at best, but I love them regardless. I wish he was included more within the Batfam, but ah well. Baby steps.  
> The title is from the song Someone to you by Banners. It's definitely worth a listen.

Jason sighed as he looked across at the deep purple horizon, the sun just beginning to set on the snow topped buildings. He hated Gotham especially in winter. It brought back so many bad memories of freezing on the street. Homeless, tired, and not sure if he would even survive the night.

He spent a lot of time living on the street after his mom died. They tried to place him in foster homes, but somehow each one managed to be worse than the last. 

Gotham was corrupt to its very core and precious few people were decent. Even rarer were those who were kind. People had to be tough in Gotham. Showing kindness was akin to showing weakness and weakness would get you mugged and killed in a back alleyway if you were lucky. But it was home and Jason was a Gothamite born and bred. 

Then he was taken in by the Batman, for trying to steal the tires off the Batmobile, no less. Not that he knew it was Batman that took him in, at first. It was Bruce Wayne, the billionaire, playboy, not quite genius, and somewhat philanthropist that had arranged for Jason to stay with him at the Wayne Manor. 

Jason spent the first few days after being brought to manor in a state of fear, sleeping under the bed with whatever sharp object he could find to defend himself in case the worst should happen. Jason was skittish and unpredictable, prone to nightmares and didn’t trust anyone at first. Not that anyone could blame him. Neither Bruce nor Alfred knew what had happened to Jason before and while living on the streets, but they knew enough. Enough to know that even though Jason was only 12 years old he had already experienced more horrors than any kid his age ever should.

After about a month he calmed down and somewhat relaxed, but he remained determinedly cautious.

He liked Alfred as soon as they met. Alfred who was always gentle and kind. He would follow Alfred around the manor, assisting him with chores and talking non-stop about whatever took his fancy. Alfred loved Jason like he was his own grandson and enjoyed his company tremendously. He was bright and inquisitive. Eager to learn and constantly asking questions after only a few months of living at the manor.

However, Bruce was an entirely different story. He tried to give Jason space to adjust, but it just made him seem closed off and distant. Jason knew the reason why he was so secretive after Bruce told him that he was Batman, but it just felt like Bruce didn’t care about him at the time. 

Jason warmed up to Bruce eventually and he finally knew what it was like to have a real father. 

Jason knew how to make Bruce laugh like no one else could and whenever the nightmares got really bad Bruce would be there at his side. Bruce would stay up with him reading a book until Jason fell back asleep. Sometimes they would stay awake all night long watching movies until Alfred ushered them, fondly, to bed. 

Sometimes Bruce would be gone for weeks or months at a time and come back with injuries that were passed off as a clumsy accident or a rough night partying. Jason didn’t believe him in the slightest.

They tried to give him normal childhood. 

They really did. 

But he found out about Bruce’s secret eventually. 

And then he became Robin which was the best thing that had ever happened to him. He loved being Robin more than anything, more than life itself. He loved the thrill of flying over roof-tops and leaping between buildings. Taking down thugs and bad guys by Batman’s side. He saved Bruce’s life more times than he could count and Bruce saved him, until that time he wasn’t able to.

He had died. And somehow gotten better. Had woken up in his own coffin confused and scared. He had crawled his way to the surface and would have died again if he hadn’t been “saved” by Talia al Ghul.

Sticking him in the Lazarus pit certainly didn’t help him. He came back angry and had tried to kill Bruce. And his replacement. And anyone else that was close to Batman. 

Not his finest moment.

Not that he regretted how he treated Bruce. He was still as pissed as hell and wasn’t entirely sure that he wouldn’t put a bullet in his face the next time he saw him. 

The best thing that had happened to him since his resurrection were his two best friend: Roy Harper and Koriand’r. Not that he would ever admit it to them. He missed them. Not that he would admit that either. 

They were currently on a vacation, leaving Jason to stay in Gotham alone for a couple weeks. They had invited him along with them, but he had declined. They deserved some time alone together. Didn’t mean he wouldn’t tease them relentlessly about it when they called him later. 

He sighed again, hoping to high heaven that he wouldn’t encounter any annoying bats tonight. That was the last thing he needed. They didn’t even know he was back in Gotham and he wanted it to stay that way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know when I'll be able to post the next chapter, but I intend to do it as soon as possible. Not much action yet. Soon. Very soon.


	2. I Never Had Nobody

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason gets a call from Roy and Kori

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short chapter again. They'll get longer as the story goes on and gets more in depth. Right now I'm trying to lay out the groundwork and where Jason stands with the Batfam and to be honest its not looking too good. I'm not exactly sure of when I am able to post the next chapter, but it won't be longer than a week.

“Hey Jaybird,” Roy exclaimed cheerfully, his face filling up the entire screen of Jason’s phone. “How’s Gotham?”

“Terrible,” Jason grumbled. He was cold and exhausted and kind of wishing that he had taken Roy and Kori up on their offer. “How’s paradise?”

“Paradise is great man. I wish you had come with us”

“And have to watch you two moon over each other, pass”

Kori shoved Roy’s head to the side and it was her face that took up the screen. She gave Jason a disapproving look. 

“Sorry Kori, I meant I’ll pass on watching Roy make an ass of himself”

“Hey!” Came Roy’s indignant and muffled voice. “I am hurt. I feel betrayed. Betrayed by my own best friend. I thought we were practically brothers, Todd.”

“Stop being so melodramatic, Roy.” Kori pulled Roy back into the frame so they were sitting side by side. “How are you Jason?”

“I’m fine,” Jason shrugged his shoulders, leaning back against the cool wall, feeling the evening chill even through his thick, leather jacket. He shivered almost imperceptible and turned the collars up slightly in a vain attempt to keep out the slight breeze. “I haven’t seen any of the bats yet, so it's all good.”

“Jason,” Kori sighed and gave him a worried look. “Maybe it would be best if you did see them. Maybe you should try talking. It might help.”

“Punching helps too”

“Not helping Roy”

“I don’t have anything more to say to him. He made it quite clear that I wasn’t his son and I’m not welcomed.”

“You don’t know that for sure”

“I’m pretty sure he knows, Kori. Look what happened between me and Oliver. It's never going to get better so you shouldn’t even bother trying. He’s just another rich asshole who doesn’t care abou- ”

“Not helping Roy” 

“Kori,” Jason let out a breath and lifted his gaze towards the night sky. Another cold gust of wind blew through the narrow alley he was standing in causing chills to race down his spine. He wasn’t sure, but it felt like he was being watched. He brushed it off as paranoia and looked back into Kori’s green eyes. “I can’t ever talk to or see him again. I tried to kill h-”

Kori cut him off. “That wasn’t you Jason. It was the pit. It wasn’t your fault”

“I was so angry and hurt. I wanted him to feel the same pain I felt. I meant nothing to him. I came back and I was all wrong and messed up and broken. And he wasn’t there for me. He never even tried to understand, he just saw me as another disappointment. Something to lock away and never look back. I was the one who disobeyed orders and got myself killed.”

“Not to us Jaybird. We’re always here for you. You were an amazing Robin and if Batman can't see that then he is a stuck-up, arrogant prick”

“Do you want us to come back? We can pick you up in a few hours”

Jason pulled his hand down the length of his face and shook his head. “No, you guys have fun. It’s only for a couple weeks and it’s not like Batman even knows I’m here. Anyway I should go. The streets aren't going to patrol themselves.”

“See you soon Jaybird. We miss you!”

The video call ended and Jason stared down at the blank screen. 

“I miss you too.”

Distracted by his thoughts, Jason didn’t notice the dark shape crouched on the fire escape above.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the cliffhanger. The story is starting to pick up speed now.


	3. If You Feel the Great Dividing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce listens in on a conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was hard to write. I'm pleased with the outcome though.

Bruce was exhausted. He had recently returned to Gotham after being on an off world mission for the Justice League. World conquering aliens was hardly a new development and he had only been gone a few days. Diana and Clark had sent him home, reasoning that Gotham had a bigger need for Batman then they did.

They were right, of course. Gotham was getting worse. Common criminals and thugs were still a problem, but it was the high end drug dealers and crime bosses that were behind the majority of the issues plaguing Gotham. They were getting more and more creative to stay ahead of the ever growing number of vigilantes and it just made Bruce’s job that much harder. 

They weren’t the only ones of course. The bigger threats to Gotham, such as the Joker, Scarecrow, and Penguin, were still at large and it was taking all hands on deck to restore some semblance of order to the city. 

Dick and Damian were investigating a string of murders near the Gotham sewer system, that they believed were somehow connected to the League of Shadows and Tim was recovering from a broken arm, courtesy of the Riddler. Bruce had ordered Tim to stay home and rest, but he knew that it was only a matter of time before Tim decided that his arm was sufficiently healed and went out anyways. 

Bruce loved his children, but they could be extremely stubborn and hard-headed, not to mention negligent when it came to their own self-preservation. 

Sighing, he leapt down down from the roof top he was perched on, straight into a group of unsuspecting would-be-muggers. 

**********

Bruce had been patrolling for nearly three hours without major incident when he saw Jason Todd walk down the nearby street and turn into the alleyway beyond, disappearing into the dark shadows cast down by the high walls on either side. Bruce stared for several seconds at the dark alley in a state of utter shock. He had thought that that the Red Hood and the rest of the so called Outlaws never operated in Gotham, especially after all the bad history between Jason and the rest of the family. 

He hadn’t seen Jason in months.

He had thought he would never see him again. 

Bruce didn’t know how to deal with Jason. There was to much guilt there. To much pain. He kept his distance and never tried to contact Jason. It was better that way. Jason didn’t want anything to do with him. He kept tabs on him, of course. Despite what Jason believed, Bruce loved him. He was his son. No matter what happened between them. Bruce was just terrible at expressing his feelings much to Alfred’s dismay. 

Last he heard, Jason had been working with the outlaws somewhere in the Middle East, causing chaos and mass destruction. 

Now he was here, in Gotham. Wearing his full uniform, but without his traditional red helmet instead sporting a black domino mask. 

He seemed healthier now, more in control. He no longer had that crazed look in his eyes, face twisted in rage and pure hatred. 

But he also had an air of deep-seated exhaustion. Like he had tried to go against the entire world and lost. Jason had been fighting the world since he was born. Bruce had hoped that by taking him in and training him to be Robin that Jason would lose his anger overwhelming anger at the world, but it just got worse. 

Bruce crouched down on the fire escape above where Jason was leaning against the wall on the phone with Roy Harper and Koriand'r, careful not to make any noise. 

From his vantage point, Bruce was able hear everything Jason was saying as well as Starfire and Arsenal’s side of the conversation. 

“-don’t have anything more to say to him. He made it quite clear that I wasn’t his son and I’m not welcomed.”

Bruce frowned, Jason was always welcomed at the manor. Sure, in recent years it had been dangerous to be around Jason with his violent tendencies and inclination to lash out at the slightest provocation, but Wayne Manor was Jason's home and he belonged there with his family. 

In hindsight Bruce should have tried harder to bring Jason back to the manor and get him the help he needed, but he was to much of a coward. He had convinced himself that Jason would see it as another way of Bruce trying to control him and leave forever, but in truth he wasn’t sure how Jason would have reacted. In the end Jason left anyway and, to his shame, Bruce had been relieved. He told himself that it was a good thing. That Jason was finally moving on with his life, but it was just another lie he told himself to appease the guilt. 

“You don’t know that for sure.” Even Kori sounded skeptical as much as she was trying to hide it. 

“I’m pretty sure he knows, Kori. Look at what happened between me and Oliver. It's never going to get better so you shouldn’t even bother trying. He’s just another rich asshole who doesn’t care abou- ”

“Not helping Roy”

“Kori.” Bruce watched as Jason blew out a breath and look tiredly towards the sky. The gesture made him seem so old. When had he grown up so fast? “I can’t ever talk to or see him again. I tried to kill h-”

“That wasn’t you Jason. It was the pit. It wasn’t your fault”

The pit? Bruce knew that Jason had been placed in the Lazarus pit by Talia and her father, but he didn’t known the extent of the madness that had caused Jason to lash out at him and the rest of the family. He had assumed that … well … he wasn’t sure what he had thought. 

“I was so angry and hurt. I wanted him to feel the same pain I felt. I meant nothing to him. I came back and I was all wrong and messed up and broken. And he wasn’t there for me. He never even tried to understand, he just saw me as another disappointment. Something to lock away and never look back. I was the one who disobeyed orders and got myself killed.” 

Bruce felt his heart clench with pain. Jason meant everything to him. How could he not know that? When Jason died a part of Bruce died as well. That hole in his heart never filled. 

The manor was empty and silent for so long, devoid of laughter and the joy that Jason had brought to its seemingly endless rooms and corridors. For months Bruce could barely look anywhere without thinking about Jason. How he loved to sit on the counter chatting about his day with Alfred and how they would read for hours on end in the library. How Jason would always try to sneak up on Bruce, trying to surprise him and how he much he loved to learn. Jason was such a brilliant child. He would read every book he could get his hands on. From time to time he would even sneak into Bruce’s private study to read the books he kept there. Bruce had hoped that Jason would eventually go to college and leave the vigilante life behind. 

“-ere an amazing Robin and if Batman can't see that then he is a stuck-up, arrogant prick”

“Do you want us to come back? We can pick you up in a few hours”

“No, you guys have fun. It’s only for a couple weeks and it’s not like Batman even knows I’m here. Anyway I should go. The streets aren't going to patrol themselves.”

“See you soon Jaybird. We miss you!”

Bruce watched as Jason ended the video call only to stare at the blank screen of his phone for several seconds before murmuring so quietly that Bruce could barely make out what Jason was saying.

“I miss you too.”

As Jason turned and started walking toward the well-lit street, Bruce stood up contemplating his options. 

Suddenly Jason tensed, hands flying to his sides, to the two guns holstered there. 

“Batman"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter hopefully next week. Thank you so much for all of the comments and kudos. They are the fuel that drive me.


End file.
